James Hong
|birth_place = Minneapolis, MN |occupation = Actor/Director |yearsactive = 1955 to present |series = I Dream of Jeannie |character = Chinese agent Chan in "Jeannie and the Kidnap Caper" (Season 1) }} James Hong (born 22 February 1929) is an American actor and director. He played the part of Chinese agent Chan, the owner of Szechuan Village Chinese Restaurant, Doug's favorite restaurant on the I Dream of Jeannie episode, "Jeannie and the Kidnap Caper" (Season 1, Episode #21). A highly talented and versatile stage, screen, and animated voice over actor, over the years, Hong has had a long career acting in many guest television show appearances, appearing in such shows as Bonanza, Gomer Pyle, USMC, Miami Vice, The A-Team, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and The King of Queens. Hong is one of the most prolific and well-recognized Asian-American character actors of movies and television. He is a former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists (AAPAA). Early Life and Career Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, James's father, Frank W. Hong, immigrated from Hong Kong to Chicago after living in Canada, where he owned a restaurant. Hong's grandfather was from Taishan, China.JamesHong.com Official website For his early education, Hong moved to Hong Kong, and returned to the United States at age ten. Hong studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, but at some point along the way became interested in acting. Graduating from the University of Southern California, James then practiced for a year and a half as a road engineer with the County of Los Angeles. He took sick leaves and vacation time to do films. He finally quit engineering to focus on acting full-time. Voiceover Work James has played in over 500 television and film roles.Internet Movie Database (IMDb) His career in show business began in the 1950s when he redubbed soundtracks of several Asian films, including the re-dubbing of characters Ogata (Akira Takarada) and Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) in the 1956 Japanese film classic Godzilla, King of the Monsters! as well as the title character in The Human Vapor. He appeared as a prince on an episode of Disney's Zorro TV series in 1959. He also was one of the founders of the East-West Players in 1965, the oldest Asian American theater in Los Angeles. He served as president and charter member of the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists. James also voiced the character Daolon Wong, an evil wizard in the Jackie Chan Adventures animated television series, and was the voice of Chi Fu in Disney’s Mulan, Mandarin in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and Professor Chang in Teen Titans. He made a cameo appearance in the television series Las Vegas as a presumed cheating monk. James Hong also lent his voice to the Cartoon Network animation Chowder as Mung Daal's mentor in the "Won-Ton Bombs" episode. In 2006, Hong voiced the character Mayor Tong in Avatar: The Last Airbender in the second season's episode titled "Avatar Day". Family Life Daughter, April Hong, is a well known former child actress, and also now a respected film and TV actress. James and April regularly conduct acting workshop classes at the Hong Acting Workshop in Beverly Hills, California.http://www.jameshong.com/acting_class_teachers.html Hong Acting Workshop bio reference References External links * Category:Actors Category:Guest stars Category:Real People Category:I Dream of Jeannie